Christian Pulisic, Weston McKennie help USA defeat Mexico 2-0 in World Cup qualifying

It took a while for the game’s first goal but ultimately Christian Pulisic delivered.

The USMNT’s best player stepped up in the 74th minute to complete a brilliant run with a header on goal for the game’s first tally in a 2-0 win over Mexico. The win pushes USA to the top of the World Cup qualifying standings at the moment with a few more matches left in the round.

Pulisic came on as a sub in the 69th minute, shortly after players from both teams received cautions and yellow cards in a heated exchange involving Luis Rodriguez and Brenden Aaronson. In the 74th minute, the star forward made his move.

Weston McKennie would double America’s advantage in the 85th minute with a good finish after getting a fortunate bounce through Mexico’s defense.

USA did have some trouble late when Miles Robinson picked up a red card in the 90th minute, sending the Americans down to 10 men. It ultimately didn’t matter, as Mexico was unable to find the back of the net.

43 percent of wagers on the game backed the USMNT, according to DraftKings Sportsbook. 56 percent of the money was on USA in this match, so the American backers were putting in more cash. If you took Ryan’s props on the game, you made some money on USA winning (+185) and USA scoring first (+110).

The Americans get Jamaica Tuesday in the next qualifying game. Mexico will try to recover from this loss when it faces Canada.